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Hello and thanks for visiting my blog. I have been knitting on and off for 50 years and I recently learned to crochet. I love looking for wool bargains and making them into something useful. I mainly knit for charity. I occasionally knit for myself and family members if I find a really good pattern or if they ask nicely!!

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Tuesday, 3 January 2017

By request, five hats...

Towards the end of last November, I sent a parcel to Knit for Nowt. This is an organisation that supplies knitted and crocheted items to people in Hull and East Yorkshire. I was impressed at how quickly the organiser contacted me and even more impressed when she asked me for more hats and scarves in adult sizes. I do like a good communicator and I am happiest when I know that what I am knitting is actually needed.

I finished the toddler size hat that was already on my needles and then started on the adult hats. I had some aran in grey and some in a sparkly beige colour. Neither of them looked appealing to start with, but both knitted up beautifully. I don't remember where it came from, but I think it must have been filling a space in a job lot. The grey is Sirdar Supersoft and definitely lives up to its name. The beige was missing its label but measured as aran. The sparkle is just enough to make the boring beige more interesting. Both colours were perfect for adult hats.

I used up all the beige on two hats and then most of the grey on another two. I still have enough grey left for another hat. But I was knitting so fast that I actually wore out the circular needle! I had several near disasters with the last hat when the stitches flew off the end of the collapsed cable. Luckily, it is fairly easy to pick up aran stitches if you stay calm. I wonder if there is a poster that says "Keep calm and pick up stitches". Maybe I will design one.

I wasn't too upset about the cable. I have used it for several years without problems. I always knit hats "in the round" to avoid seams. I have another cable on order. But the parcel is going off tomorrow with the five hats I managed to finish. I want them to reach Yorkshire while the weather is still cold.

14 comments:

A good deed for the new year Una. well done you. I am trying to knit a fair isle hat but I think I have unpicked more than I have actually gained. It is a thinking womans pattern and I am not sure I am her! Jo x

I love your consistent effort to knit for charity causes. Will these hats go to folks closer to where you live (I am in the US and don't know the area you are in.) If so, do you ever see any of your work in the community. That would be the icing on the cake if you saw your efforts first hand helping someone else. Not a requirement, however, but it might privately give you a really good feeling. Happy New Year Una.

Well, Yorkshire is about 200 miles from where I live. However, I usually visit every year as I like the area and feel really at home there....maybe in a former life! I recently saw a tv programme about premature babies and one was wearing a hat that looked very like one I knitted. It was a good feeling.

Great hats Una what a shame that your cable broke that just goes to show how much work you have been doing you wore it out! Thats why I like sending stuff to knit for nowt Clare is always so thankful for what you send as you say it's great to know that the things that you are making are needed and will be used. :) x

The hats you knitted look great I like the colors! It is nice that you found someone that communicates what they want you to knit for them. I would love to be able to donate that way sometime too. There should be a poster that says that! I would have it hanging up in my apartment for sure. Have a good week!Lisa

I use various hat patterns including https://www.pyrrhadesigns.com/2014/05/17/crafting-thursdays-on-saturday-all-about-hats/ and another one called "Be Loving" which is available free on the Ravelry website.